Today we have Suzanne with us, and she is showing off a fleece version of the Zippy Jacket. I often get asked if this pattern can be made in fleece, and as she shows, the answer is yes!
So, if I can't give him a real dog to cuddle an play with, I can at least make something warm and fuzzy for him to snuggle in that fulfills his puppy love (look at that smile!!!). This is the first fabric that Becket picked out all on his own, and I was happy to add it to my basket of purchases - I am sure that will not always be the case.
Once I had this cuddly polar fleece, I knew that I needed a pattern that could be worn A LOT - and for me that always means outerwear. Here in the North East we need to layer, so for now this will be worn as a sweatshirt under a full jacket, but as we head towards spring, it will be worn as hit lighter weight jacket, and it will even be perfect in summer for cool evening camp fires and nights coming home from the pool.
I made some modifications with the zipper - my son has some mild sensory issues and HATES for anything 'scratchy' to be near his face. Easy fix, I just shifted the zipper down to start at the neck line rather than the top of the collar. You will also probably notice that my zipper ends just above the waistband.... this would be seamstress fail in assuming that her open end zippers were long enough. I still love the look though.
And while making this I had the GENIUS idea that this could easily be made as a pullover with just a short top zipper if you cut the front on the fold... I also may already have a T-shirt version of this cut that I will do with a banded neck - the options are endless! I promise to share pictures on Facebook so that you can all see.
Have fun sewing - and always make the customizations you need to make sure your kiddos will love what you make!
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